Cushion-spring.



- PATENTED JAN. 13, 1903. W. R. S TH.

CUSHION NG APPLIUATIO Nrrnn STATES ATENT OFFICE.

WATSON R. SMITH, OF'JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

CUSHION-SPRING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,541, dated January 13, 1903.

' Application flied May 27, 1902. serial No. 109,175. (No man.)

To all whom, t may con/cern:

Be it known that I, WATSON R. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Jackson, in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Cushions, of which the following is a specification. v

My invention relates to improvements in springcushions in 'which the springs are joined together by lneans of wires forming a frame and also connecting the springs togetherinside the frame to form what is termed a spring-edge cushion-that is,onein which the edge all the way around is supported by springs and will yield under the pressure applied thereto in use.

The objects of myimprovements are, Iirst, to provide a spring-edge cushion in which the least possible wire is used for the purpose of reducing the weight and also the expense; second, to provide a cushion in which the wire forming the frame or edge shall also perform the work of attaching itself to the springs without other clips or wires for locking purposes; third, to provide one in which the interior stay-wires shall also perform the work of connecting themselves to the springs without the use of clips or other wires for locking purposes; fourth, to provide a cushion in which the stay-wires are so woven together that when pressure is applied to any one portion thereof it is distributed over the portion of the cushion surrounding that upon which the pressure is directly applied and the farther the cushion is depressed the larger the area over which the pressure is distributed, and consequently the greater will be the resistance of the cushion, and, fifth, to provide such a connection between the stay-wires and edge wires and the springs to which they are attached that when either of'said stay-wires is sprung upon being depressed the wire will yield at the point adjacent to the spring to which it is attached and not at any portion of the loop which is coiled about the said spring in attaching said stay and edge wires to said springs. I attain these objects by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a plan view of a complete carriage-cushion embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cushion. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of a cushion, showing the manner of atspring.

taching the stay and edge wires to the springs. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of one loop of the spring-edge wire before it is clamped about the spring to which it is to be attached. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the same after the loop has been clamped about the spring, the throat being closed up lirmly against said Fig. 6 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. et, but from the under side. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one loop of the edge Wire coiled about the spring to which it is to be attached.

Similarletters and igures of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the construction of my said cushion I employ two edge wires l l, one for the top and one for the bottom, respectively. Each of these said wires is composed of but one continuous piece of wire. Where the ends join,

they are each coiled about the same spring, as

at 5 in Fig. l, thus uniting said ends together by attaching them to the same coil of the spring 4. At intervals throughout the length of said wire, as at 3 3, the said wire is bent inwardly at a right angle and is then bent back upon itself and is then bent at right angles again to form a continuation of said edge wire in practically a straight line to the next loop, as shown. By this construction the hook 3 is made very rigid by bringing its two members close together in forming the hook, and thus Whenever the edge wire is sprung in use the wire yields at the bend 8 instead of at the bend l0 in the loop, as would occur if the bend 10 were an acute angle, as is employed in the construction of some cushions. The hook 3 is formed into the hook shape, as shown in Fig. 3, into which is inserted the coil of the spring which it is desired to attach to the edge wire at this point, and the throat 12 of the said hook is closed up, clamping the hookshaped loop as tightly as possible about the said spring, as shown in Fig. 4. By thus clamping the loop about the spring the rigidity of the hook 3 is greatly increased, and there is left no possibility of the bending of either of the portions of the edge wire adjacent to said hook causing the slightest movement of the members of said hook.

My construction has the further advantage that whenever pressure is applied to the cush- IOO ion in use the pressure of the edge wire is directly upon the edge of the spring and there is little if any tendency for the edge Wire to turn upon said spring-wire, giving the connection therewith the hinge motion which occurs wherever clips or other means are employed for attaching the edge wire to the said springs. At the corners of said cushion I employ two or more hooks 3 3, attached to the same spring, to give the corner the rounding form which is desirable and also to firmly support the said edge wire at such corners upon two or more points upon said spring. It will thus be seen that the upperand lower edge wire, which form the frame of said cushion, are each formed of a continuous piece of wire, which also forms all of the connections, attaching itself to the outer row of springs of said cushion, being much simpler in construction, easier to assemble, and lighter than when many extra pieces of clips or lockingwires are employed to attach the said edge wire to the said springs.

To form a perfect cushion, it is necessary that the springs be in some manner connected, so that whenever one spring is depressed others will be also depressed, and thus the strength and resiliency of the cushion will be increased in proportion as the weight upon it is increased. To accomplish this purpose, I have employed stay-wires 2 2, which are attached to the end springs by coiling the end of the stay-wire tightly about the uppermost coil of said springs, as at 6. The said staywires are then crossed to the adjacent rows and connected to each alternate spring, as shown, by means of the hooks 3 3, which are of the same construction as those employed t0 attach the edge wire to the springs. In placing the said stay-wires in said cushion I have interwoven them, as shown, the staywire 2 passing beneath the stay-wire 2 at the intersection a; and passing above the said stay-wire 2 at the next clossing at y. Thus each stay-wire passes above the other at each alternate crossing of said stay-wires. By this construction it is apparent that whenever the weight upon the cushion is applied to any portion of the cushion the stay-wires at said point will be depressed and will also depress the springs with which they are connected, and at the same time the said stay-wires will press downward upon the crossing stay-wires at alternate crossings and will thus depress such crossing stay-wires and all springs with which they are connected, by which construction the heavier the weight pressing upon the cushion the greater the number of springs which come into use through the construction of the stay-wires to receive the said pressure and cushion it from entirely depressing the said cushion. The bottom of the cushion is constructed in the same manner as the top, and it will thus be seen that the said cushion is reversible, if desired.

It will thus be seen that in my cushion I have constructed a cushion possessing all of the desirable features of a spring-cushion in which I have employed in addition to the usual springs but two edge wires and eight stay-wires, one-half being for the top and onehalf being for the bottom, without requiring any clips, locking, or other fastening or tying means or wires. I am aware that cushions have been made in which loops or hooks have been formed in the stay and edge wires for hooking onto the springs; but these have been open loops or hooks and didvnot possess the feature of rigidity which is essential to my construction, and I am not aware that there has ever heretofore been employed an edge wire having closed hooks coiled about the springs to form both the edge wire and the connections, and neither am I aware that there have ever been employed stay-wires which were woven together as shown and which had loops formed therein and clasped about the springs, as shown in my cushion above described.

My cushion, as shown, possesses several desirable features which are improvements over any cushions heretofore shown or described in the art, and I desire to secure protection for such new and desirable improvements.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Inaspringcushion,thecombinationwith a frame, consisting of an upper and a lower edge wire, of springs arranged within the frame, each of the edge wires bent inwardly at intervals to form pairs of contacting members being bent into hook form and sprung into engagement with an adjacent spring with the bight portion of the hook in contact with the members.

2. Inaspring-cushion,thecombination with a frame, consisting of an upper and a lower edge wire, of springs arranged within the frame, each of the edge wires bent inwardly at intervals to form pairs of contacting members bent into hook form and engaged around an adjacent spring with the bight portion of the hook in contact with the members, and stay-wires sprung into engagement with the springs within the frame.

3. In aspring-cushion, the combination with a frame consisting of an upper and a lower IOO IIO

edge wire, of springs arranged within thev WATSON R. SMITH.

Witnesses:

H. A. REEcE, CHESTER W. BROWN. 

